A ministerial delegation to Tehran to solve the electricity crisis next week

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[size=52]A ministerial delegation to Tehran to solve the electricity crisis next week[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Hussein Hatem[/size]
[size=45]Once again, the Iraqi government intends to send a negotiating delegation to the Iranian side to resolve the “electricity crisis.” According to the Ministry of Electricity, the delegation, which includes the Ministers of Electricity, Finance and Oil, and the Director General of the Iraqi Trade Bank, will visit Iran to discuss the possibility of paying debts and releasing gas supplies.[/size]
[size=45]While she indicated that the decline in flows from the Iranian side is still continuing, on the other hand, energy specialists called for the use of alternative sources of gas, to ensure the availability of electricity.[/size]
[size=45]Through these agreements, the Iraqi government seeks to overcome the shortage of electric power that the country has been suffering from for decades, despite spending tens of billions of dollars on this sector over the past years. Until now, Iraq relies on Iranian gas to feed its electricity production plants, in addition to importing 1,200 megawatts from Iran.[/size]
[size=45]A spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Al-Abadi, told (Al-Mada), that "at the direction of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, a government delegation was formed that includes the ministers of electricity, finance and oil, and the Director General of the Iraqi Trade Bank to negotiate with the Iranian side regarding gas supply contracts and the timing of the launches next week."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Abadi added, "After the delegation's visit and negotiations, Iraq will pay part of the accumulated debts to the Iranian side," stressing "the possibility of returning gas launches from Iran to Iraq in preparation for the summer." A spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity indicated that "the value of the accumulated debts amounted to one billion and 692 million dollars," noting that "the delegation is discussing the possibility of repaying the debts in annual installments over three years or paying them in one go after the releases of the dues from Iranian gas in full."[/size]
[size=45]And he added, "The decline in flows from the Iranian side is still continuing, and Iran is supposed to supply Iraq daily with no less than 45 million cubic meters, and the supply is still only about 8 million, and we have the possibility to add 8000 megawatts to the national network, but provided that fuel supplies are available."[/size]
[size=45]Regarding negotiations with the Qatari and Saudi sides, Al-Abadi explained, "After the Iraqi delegation's visit to the Qatari side, the latter expressed its willingness to supply gas in specific quantities to fill the shortage of Iranian gas." And he continued, "Our negotiations with the Qatari side require a number of strategic steps that begin with ministerial cooperation by finance, oil and transport to establish gas platforms and pipelines linking gas pipelines," noting that "it takes time from one year to 14 months to export gas from Qatar to Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]In turn, an expert in energy affairs, Bilal Al-Khalifa, told Al-Mada that "the government lacks alternative plans for importing gas represented by investing gas inside Iraq and using alternative sources such as solar energy." Al-Khalifa added, "Iraq burns quantities of associated gas during the extraction of crude oil daily, 1400 million cubic feet, and annually 17 billion cubic meters."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "Iraq cannot dispense with imported gas, because the exploitation of its associated gas will not meet the needs of its stations to generate electric power, which amounts to 33,000 megawatts."[/size]
[size=45]And the expert in energy affairs went on to say that "the electricity suffers from several administrative problems, including those related to collection, in addition to the slack in the number of employees and rampant corruption within the ministry, all of which prevent the electric sector from advancing.[/size]
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